FAA VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINALS

GREENWICH—To beat a defending champion, it requires a superlative effort.

To topple a four-time defending Fairchester Athletic Association girls volleyball champion like King School, a team needs to reach an extraordinary level with an amazing attention to detail.

It was a roller-coaster ride in the FAA volleyball playoff semifinals Wednesday, but No. 1 seed Greenwich Academy couldn’t vanquish the champ as No. 4 seed King School rallied to emerge with a 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 26-24 triumph on the road at a raucous Gators gym.

The win means that King (13-2 overall) will battle the winner between No. 2 seed Greens Farms and No. 3 seed Hopkins School for the 2018 FAA Championship on the road.

“Both teams fought so hard. Our girls played well,” said Greenwich Academy coach Christy Girard. “We just didn;’t get the result we wanted.”

King, which lost to Greenwich Academy early in the regular season to see its multi-season FAA regular season winning streak end, had this semifinal match circled on their calendars.

“After the regular season loss to GA, (King’s veteran) coach (Tung) Tran told us that streaks are meant to be broken,” said King senior tri-captain Ava Robinowitz. “What the players took away from that loss was simply that we didn’t want to feel that way again.”

It was a different King squad Wednesday. This time, Anne Michalski was available to the Vikings. Meanwhile, this time GA played without key component Alex Trofort.

But what was most obvious Wednesday was the growth of the King team.

This match, they were a fist. They were Vikings who stepped up to deliver in big moments.

“What we did over the course of the season was work on chemistry. Now we have trust,” King’s Robinowitz said. “The hitters trust the defense. There is love for all teammates. There is love for the game of volleyball.”

And there is confidence not panic. Greenwich Academy (12-5) took Game 1 by 25-22. But King answered with surges at the end to take Game 2 and Game 3 by identical 25-21 scores.

In Game 4, GA led 15-9 before King forged ties of 19-19 and 21-21.

King led 23-21 before GA grabbed a 24-23 edge. But King responded with three straight points to gain its measure of revenge.

“It’s about hard work,” King’s Robinowitz said. “Scrimmaging on Tuesday against (FCIAC West Division champ, FCIAC Tourney runnerup) Westhill High. That was exactly what we needed to prepare for this.”

As for Greenwich Academy, the Gators still have their 2011 and 2012 FAA volleyball championship banners on the gym wall.

“We were excited for this challenge. We knew King would bring their all,” said GA senior tri-captain Madlin Decker. “We played our best. I’m so proud of our group. It’s been wonderful how far we came this season. This is a sad moment. But we’re happy for our journey.

“What I will remember is how the school and the community came to support us,” Decker continued. “They believe and we feed off their energy. It’s nervewracking down the stretch of games. We wanted to win. We knew we had it in us. This was our glorious chance.”